The French Resistance

The French Resistance came into existence during World War II.It was started during the time of German occupation in France in order to combat the German oppression.There were many small pockets made up of Communist party members, Socialist party members, and French soldiers.Atfirst, they were located mainly in the forests of unoccupied territory.Three people that were important leaders during the early part of the Resistance were Jean Moulin, Jean-Pierre Levy, and Emmanuel d'Astier.They started by printing newspapers and pamphlets and distributing them to the few thousand members they each had.A French general named Charles De Gaulle had the foresight to unite these two factions of the Resistance.These two groups eventually blossomed into a powerful force that served to save many lives of enemies of the Axis powers.The French Resistance had many functions that it performed during World War II.Some of their important ones were helping downed fighter pilots into Britain and other nearby neutral countries or countries on the side of the Allies, militia attacks to complement the attacks of Allied troops in many important battles including D-Day in Normandy, and assassinate key figures of the Gestapo and the Nazi army.Even though for the most part the Resistance tried to stay clandestine, its value was recognized by both the Allies and the Axis powers.General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke of there "inestimable value"to the success of the Allies, and the Gestapo devoted much of its time to rooting the small clandestine pockets that were causing them so much trouble.There is no doubt that, without the Resistance, many more lives of Allied soldiers would have been lost and World War II would have been extended for a great amount of time.…